Display card frame



1968 J. w. ERICSSON 3,411,225

DI SPLAY CARD FRAME Filed Jan. 9, 1967 INVENTOR I J. n. ER/CSSON MMEQMATTORNEY United States Patent 01 lice 3,411,226 Patented Nov. 19, 19683,411,226 DISPLAY CARD FRAME James W. Ericsson, Indianapolis, Ind.,assignor to Bell Telephone Laboratorisls, lglgcoiporated, Murray Hill,

cor oration of ew or N J a Fi led Jan. 9, 1967, Ser. No. 608,114

5 Claims. (Cl. 4010) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A card holder includinga base member mountable on a support and a frame member overlying thebase member to hold the card therebetween and wlth spring blased meansto lock the said base and frame member in assembled relation.

This invention relates to display card holders and, more specifically,to a display card frame for use with public telephone booths. I

Telephone booths commonly include an lnformation card provided by thetelephone operating company containing their advertising orinstructional material. These cards are mounted in holders whichtypically comprise a suitable frame assembly attachable to an interiorWall or column. In earlier designs, the card and its protective plasticwindow were loaded into the frame through top or side slots provided forthe purpose and held 1n place by friction or by the frame edges.

This relatively simple telephone booth display card holder is, however,vulnerable to an assortment of abuses including defacing or outrighttheft of the display card and unauthorized placement of private ads suchas business cards into the display spaceall stemming from the inherenteasy access to the card space.

Accordingly, a primary object of the invention 1s to help secure theexclusive use of this telephone booth display card space for thetelephone operating company.

A more specific object of the invention is to deter all unauthorizedaccess to this space inexpensively and without complicating lawfulaccess.

These and other objects are achieved with the present invention,broadly, by a mounted backing plate which receives the card frame infront loading fashion, first on bottom tabs and thereafter also on toptabs forced into engagement by biasing the frame across the face of theplate, and finally by engagement of -a concealed locklng bar on thebacking plates side with a cutout in the frames edge as the frame passesinto position.

The card and its plastic window are first disposed between horizontalguides on the backing plate, and the frame is installed as described.Pursuant to the invention, in order now to gain access to the card andits space, the locking bar is pushed back away from the cutout and,simultaneously, the frame is urged upwardly until its top tabs clear thebacking plate. The frame then dislodges from the backing plate by actionof the biasing spring. Neither the upward urging nor the locking baroperated alone will suflice to remove the frame from its plate. Whilesusceptible ultimately to a determined removal effort, this newarrangement nonetheless is sufliciently complex to defeat the greatmajority of attempts.

One feature of the invention relates to a locking bar which engages aside of the card frame during placement of the frame on a backing plate,thus locking frame and plate until the bar is purposefully pushed back.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparentfrom the detailed description to follow of an illustrative embodimentthereof.

The drawing comprises a front perspective view of the card frame and itsbacking plate.

The backing plate, designated 10, is a rectangular sheet metal stampingwhich includes grooves 11, 12, edges 13, 14 which are directed inwardly,horizontal guides 15, 16 which are also directed inwardly, and a biasingspring 17 fixedly mounted on the underside of guide 16. Spring 17advantageously is a steel leaf having about the same width as guide 16and located directly thereunder. Mounted on the backside of groove 11 isa locking bar 18 formed of spring material. Bar 18 is fastened, forexample, with rivet 19 and is supported within a raised portion 20conveniently formed during the stamping, and which is slightly greaterin height than groove 11 is in depth. Bar 18 thus is maintained in aforward-biased posture and held horizontally by the edges 21 of portion20. The end 22 of bar 18 protrudes slightly and inconspicuously througha cut-out 24 in side 13. Screw holes 23 are provided for fastening plate10 either directly to an interior wall or to a column with a suitableadaptor (not shown).

The card frame, designated 30, is a rectangular stamping suited to fitsnugly over the edges 13, 14 and the top and bottom ends of plate 10.Frame 30 comprises a front flange 31 running around the periphery, sideflanges 32, 33 and top and bottom flanges 34, 35. Tabs 36, 37 forming apart of top flange 34 are spaced to engage the top of grooves 11, 12;and tabs 38, 39 forming a part of bottom flange 35 are spaced to engagethe bottom of grooves 11, 12. A cutout 41 on the rear edge of flange 32is located to engage bar 18 in a manner to be described.

A plastic window 40 fits against the inside of front flange 31, and adisplay card then is located behind it or between the horizontal guides15, 16. Once the window and card are in position, tabs 38, 39 areengaged in the bottom of grooves 11, 12 and the frame 30 is lifted upagainst the force of spring 17 until tabs 36, 37 clear the top of plate10 and engage in the tops of grooves 11, 12. The rear edge of sideflange 32 now contacts locking bar 18 and forces it rearwardly. Frame 30next is urged downwardly and locks in place as bar 18 engages the cutout41 of side flange 32.

To disengage frame 30 from backing plate 10, it is necessary to pressend 22 of bar 18 back and at the same time lift frame 30 upwardly towithdraw bar 18 from the cutout 41 as well as to remove the top tabs 36,37 from their grooves 11, 12. Neither motion alone will sufl'ice todetach the frame from its backing plate.

Numerous obvious variations upon the foregoing illustrative embodimentof the invention will readily be apparent to persons skilled in the art,and all such variations are intended to be included within the spiritand the scope of the claims to follow.

What is claimed is:

1. A display card holder comprising a backing plate,

a frame shaped to fit over said plate, said frame including atransparent window member,

first means for latching the bottom of said frame to the top of saidplate,

second means for latching the top of said frame to the top of saidplate,

spring means for maintaining said frame and plate in normally latchedrelation,

a locking bar on said plate, and

means on said frame for engaging said locking bar when said frame andplate are in their normally latched relation,

said locking bar being depressibly removable from said engaging means,thereby to permit the unlatching of said frame from said plate.

2. A display card holder in accordance with claim 1 wherein said lockingbar comprises a flat, elongated member fixedly mounted to said plate atone end with its other end extending slightly beyond an edge of saidplate; wherein said engaging means comprises a cutout portion in theadjacent edge of said frame; and wherein said plate further comprisesmeans responsive to the latching of said frame and plate for biasingsaid bar into said cutout thereby to lock said frame and plate together.

3. A display card holder in accordance with claim 2, wherein said frameand plate are rectangular; wherein said first latching means comprisesfirst and second upturned tabs on the bottom edge of said frame engagingin first and second transverse grooves indented in the back of saidplate; and wherein said second latching means comprises first and seconddownturned tabs also engaging respectively in said first and secondtransverse grooves.

4. A display card holder in accordance with claim 3, wherein said springmeans comprises the horizontal bottom edge of said frame, and anelongated narrow leaf spring fixed on said plate and pressing againstsaid frame bottom edge when said frame and plate are in their normallylatched relation.

5. A display card holder comprising a rectangular backing platecomprising an inwardly extending pair of side flanges, a substantialcutout portion in one of said side flanges, top and bottom edges,-

first and second transverse grooves indented into the back of saidplate, a spring member disposed adjacent said bottom edge, and aflexible locking bar 4 mounted on said plate and extending into saidcutout portion and slightly beyond the respective side flange, said barbeing biased forwardly; and a rectangular frame comprising a four-sidedborder strip, top and bottom flanges, and a pair of side flanges, saidflanges being perpendicular to respective adjacent portions of saidborder strip, a pair of downwardly-extending tabs on said top flange anda pair of upwardly-extending tabs on said bottom flange, each said tabpair engaging with respective ends of said grooves, a transparent Windowmounted behind said border strips, and a cutout in said frame sideflange for engaging said forward-biased bar, the latter beingdepressibly removable from said last-named cutout thereby to permitdisengagement of said tab pairs from said grooves.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3/1960 Novak 40152.1 3,254,4386/1966 Filary 40156 3,284,940 11/1966 Putman 40152.l

EUGENE R. CAPOZIO, Primary Examiner.

5 W. I. CONTRERAS, Assistant Examiner.

